Tour of Homes & Gardens celebrates variety in Duluth

Tour of Homes & Gardens celebrates variety in Duluth

Have you ever wondered what is behind a closed door of a Duluth mansion or what's growing in their garden. A few select homes participate in the Tour of Homes & Gardens.

Every year, the Duluth Woman’s Club offers a peek behind the curtains of homes and fences of gardens during the Tour of Homes & Gardens.

Bill Ziebarth’s garden outside his home in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood will be on the tour in mid July.

“I just love to see things grow, see them come up, see the colors, see the contrast,” Ziebarth said.

He’s lived in the home for 27 years. The area in front used to be mostly lawn, but now there is hardly any grass to be seen.

“Now I just have lawn in the back and a little strip in the front,” he said.

Ellie Dryer, co-chair of the Tour of Homes & Gardens said it’s the only major fundraiser for the Woman’s Club.

“We’re going to have a mansion; and we’re going to have just a beautiful old home, some modern homes, including one with an elevator, one with a swimming pool,” Dryer said.

Ziebarth is excited to share the garden where until this year, he estimates he spent at least 40 hours a week working in. Now he has it to a place where he’s doing mostly maintenance.

“That’s part of the joy of gardening is sharing it with other people,” he said, “because otherwise a lot of it, I’m the only one that sees it.”

The Tour of Homes & Gardens goes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 17. People are encouraged to buy the $42 tickets online in advance, although they’ll also be sold at the door.